):
Advanced technologies for natural gas monetisation
Harald Koempel, Waldemar Liebner, Matthias Wagner
Lurgi AG
Lurgiallee 5, D-60295 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Gastech 2005, Bilbao, Spain, 14 17. March 2005
Session 5: Gas-to-Liquids, Methanol, DME, CNG & Alternatives
Gastech 2005 Liebner 2
Natural Gas in the 21
st
Century: A Key Feedstock for (Petro-) Chemicals
The total proven gas reserves amount to approx. 180 trillion cubic meters world-wide which translates into a gas
reserve-to-production ratio, i.e. a gas reserve lifetime of 70 years. Furthermore, estimated additional gas reserves will
cover a lifetime of 65 years more. [Cedigaz 2003] Compared with the reserve lifetime of 41 years for petroleum and 230
years for coal, there is no doubt that natural gas will be a key fuel component in the 21
st
century.
However, a considerable portion of this reserve is wasted yearly: More than 80 billion cubic metres of natural gas
and oil associated gas are flared for technical reasons or for lack of markets. This explains the main incentive for engi-
neers and environmentalists as well to come up with novel ideas for the utilisation of this gas.
Existing technologies for natural gas conversion are based the conversion to synthesis gas (or short: syngas, a
mixture of carbon monoxide, CO, and hydrogen, H
2
) and from there to hydrogen and ammonia, Fischer-Tropsch products
as well as methanol and DME. Currently, the production of chemicals requires only around 5% of world gas consumption
[Quigley and Fleisch 2000].
Figure 1 in a nutshell summarizes additional new routes and technologies: The very first step is again the conver-
sion to synthesis gas, only this time in a highly efficient single-train process for truly large capacities, namely MegaSyn
which is described briefly as optimised reforming in the methanol chapter. [Streb and Ghna 2000] As before, hydro-
gen, ammonia and Fischer-Tropsch products can be derived from this syngas, only now at lower costs. This cost advan-
tage is carried over to MegaMethanol
,
a methanol-based technology for the production of
synthetic transportation fuels which compares well with the FT-processes.
Lurgi MegaMethanol
refers to plants with a capacity of more than one million metric tons per year, the ac-
tual standard size being 1.7*10
6
t/a (equivalent to 5,000 t/d). To achieve such a large capacity in a single-train plant a
special process design is required. For this reason Lurgi focused on the most efficient integration of syngas generation
and methanol synthesis into the most economical and reliable technology for the new generation of future methanol
plants [Streb and Ghna 2000].
Figure 1. Gas to Chemicals Processing Routes
MegaSyn
Fischer
Tropsch
Synthesis
Mega-
Methanol
Upgrading
MTO
MtPower
MTH
MtSynfuels
Acrylic Acid
Fuel Gas
LPG
Naphtha
Diesel
Waxes
Ammonia
Fuel Cells
Chemicals (MTBE, Acetic
Acid, Formaldehyde, ...)
Diesel, transport. fuels
Propylene/Polypropylene
Acrylic Acid/Acrylates
Ethylene/Propylene
Power/Fuel/DME(Diesel)
Hydrogen
MTP
Natural Gas /
Associated
Gas
MTC
Megammonia
Fischer
Tropsch
Synthesis
Mega-
Methanol
Upgrading
MTO
MtPower
MTH
MtSynfuels
Acrylic Acid
Fuel Gas
LPG
Naphtha
Diesel
Waxes
Ammonia
Fuel Cells
Chemicals (MTBE, Acetic
Acid, Formaldehyde, ...)
Diesel, transport. fuels
Propylene/Polypropylene
Acrylic Acid/Acrylates
Ethylene/Propylene
Power/Fuel/DME(Diesel)
Hydrogen
MTP
Natural Gas /
Associated
Gas
MTC
Megammonia
technol-
ogy result in ex-gate
methanol prices of about
65 $/t or less and make
this process ideally
suited as part of Lurgis
route from C
1
to propyl-
ene and others. In
summer 2004 the first
such plant of 5,000 t/d
capacity started up suc-
cessfully: Atlas/Trinidad
is running at above de-
sign capacity ever since.
The second one, Za-
gros/Iran, is starting up
these days (spring
2005). Three more have
been ordered in 2004, with capacities of 5000, 6750 and 5400 t/d respectively. Conceptual studies and engineering activi-
ties for MegaMethanol
plants with single-train capacities of up to 7,500 t/d and more have been successfully finalised
making these plant sizes ready for commercialisation.
An environmental side note: the 80 billion cubic meters of natural gas flared or vented annually as mentioned
above would be sufficient to feed about 60 MegaMethanol
Technology
Desulphur-
ization
Pre-
Reforming
Autothermal
Reforming
Methanol
Distillation
Air-
Separation
Pure
Methanol
Oxygen
Natural
Gas
PSA
Methanol
Synthesis
Air
Optimised reforming: high
flexibility in stoichiometric
number
high energy efficiency for
MeOH synthesis
low investment costs
large single-train capacity
methanol production
cost: 65 $/t
Syngas
Purge
Gas
Crude Methanol
Steam
Boiler
Feed
Water
Gas-Cooled
Reactor
Water-Cooled
Reactor
Figure 3. DME Production by Methanol Dehydration
DME
Reaction
DME
Distillation
DME
Product
Methanol
H2O
Recycle
MeOH
Recycle
Waste
Water
Off-gas
Syngas
Production
DME
Reaction
DME
Distillation
DME
Product
Methanol
H2O
Recycle
MeOH
Recycle
Waste
Water
Off-gas
Syngas
Production
Gastech 2005 Liebner 4
20 % of Total Fixed Cost; Operating cost for operator staff, plant overhead, maintenance labour and material are in-
cluded.
All investment cost figures are budgetary estimates of +/- 20 % accuracy. (See also disclaimer at the end of
the paper.) Specific site conditions are not reflected with these numbers. The figures show the superb economics of
MegaMethanol
) Technology
Lurgis new MTP
process is based on an efficient combination of the most suitable reactor system and a very se-
lective and stable zeolite-based catalyst. Since the process has been described in detail elsewhere [Rothaemel and
Holtmann, 2001], suffice it to say here that Lurgi has selected a fixed-bed reactor system because of its many advan-
tages over a fluidised-bed. The main points are the ease of scale-up of the fixed-bed reactor and the significantly lower
investment cost.
Furthermore, Sd-Chemie AG manufactures a very selective fixed-bed catalyst commercially which provides
maximum propylene selectivity, has a low coking tendency, a very low propane yield and also limited by-product forma-
tion. This in turn leads
to a simplified purifica-
tion scheme that re-
quires only a reduced
cold box system as
compared to on-spec
ethylene/propylene
separation.
With Figure 4
a brief process de-
scription reads:
Methanol feed from
the MegaMethanol
plant is sent to an
Figure 4. MTP: Simplified Process Flow Diagram
Gasoline
143,000 t/a
Fuel Gas 15,000 t/a
internal use
Process Water 936,000 t/a
for internal use and/or irrigation
DME
Pre-
Reactor
Product
Conditioning
Propylene
519,000 t/a
LPG
54,000 t/a
Water Recycle
Olefin Recycle
Methanol, Grade AA
1.667 x 10
6
t/a = 5000 t/d
Product
Fractionation
MTP Reactors
(2 operating +1 reg.)
Figure 4. MTP: Simplified Process Flow Diagram
Gasoline
143,000 t/a
Fuel Gas 15,000 t/a
internal use
Process Water 936,000 t/a
for internal use and/or irrigation
DME
Pre-
Reactor
Product
Conditioning
Propylene
519,000 t/a
LPG
54,000 t/a
Water Recycle
Olefin Recycle
Methanol, Grade AA
1.667 x 10
6
t/a = 5000 t/d
Product
Fractionation
MTP Reactors
(2 operating +1 reg.)
Gastech 2005 Liebner 5
adiabatic DME pre-reactor where methanol is converted to DME and water. The high-activity, high-selectivity catalyst
used nearly achieves thermodynamic equilibrium. The methanol/water/DME stream is routed to the MTP
reactor to-
gether with steam and recycled olefins. Methanol/DME are converted by more than 99%, with propylene as the predomi-
nant hydrocarbon product. Process conditions in the five or six catalyst beds per reactor are chosen to guarantee similar
reaction conditions and maximum overall propylene yield. Conditions are controlled by feeding small streams of fresh
feed between the beds.
Two reactors are operating in parallel while the third one is in regeneration or stand-by mode. Regeneration is necessary
after about 500-600 hours of cycle time when the active catalyst centres become blocked by coke formed in side-
reactions. By using diluted air, the regeneration is performed at mildest possible conditions, nearly at operating tempera-
ture, thus avoiding thermal stress on the catalyst.
The product gas is compressed and traces of water, CO
2
and DME are removed by standard techniques. The
cleaned gas is then further processed yielding chemical-grade propylene with a typical purity of more then 97%. Several
olefin-containing streams are sent back to the main synthesis loop as an additional propylene source. To avoid accumula-
tion of inert materials in the loop, a small purge is required for light-ends and the C
4
/C
5
cut. Gasoline is produced as a by-
product.
Water is recycled to steam generation for the process; the excess water resulting from the methanol conversion
is purged. This process water can be used for irrigation after appropriate and inexpensive treatment. It even can be
processed to potable water where needed.
An overall mass balance is included in Figure 4 based on a combined MegaMethanol
/ MTP
in the areas of process and catalyst can be summarised as follows: The basic
process design data were derived from more than 9,000 operating hours of a pilot plant at Lurgis Research and Devel-
opment Centre. Besides the optimisation of reaction conditions also several simulated recycles have been analysed. Paral-
lel to that Lurgi decided to build a larger-scale demonstration unit to test the new process in the framework of a world-
scale methanol plant with continuous 24/7 operation using real methanol feedstock. After a cooperation agreement with
Statoil ASA was signed in J anuary 2001 the Demo Unit was assembled in Germany and then transported to the Statoil
methanol plant at Tjeldbergodden (Norway) in November 2001. Later in 2002 Borealis joined the cooperation.
The Demo Unit was started up in J anuary 2002, and the plant has been operated almost continuously since then.
As of September 8
th
2003, the Demo Unit completed the scheduled 8000 hours life-cycle test. With that the main purpose
of the test was achieved: to demonstrate that the catalyst lifetime meets the commercial target of 8000 hours on stream.
Cycle lengths between regenerations have been longer than expected. Deactivation rates of the methanol conversion re-
action decreased with operation time. Propylene selectivity and yields were in the expected range for this unit with only a
partial recycle. Also, the high quality of the by-product gasoline and the polymerisation grade quality of the propylene
were proven. For details see an AIChE paper on the Demo Unit results [Rothaemel, Liebner 2004].
The catalyst development is completed and the supplier commercially manufactures the catalyst.
Today, Lurgi is offering the process on fully commercial terms. A contract has been signed on the very first plant
with a capacity of 100,000 t/a of propylene in the Middle East. Basic engineering work has commenced.
From the same region a private investor has signed an LOI on a full-size MTP plant of about 500,000 t/a capac-
ity. He has ordered as a first step a pre-basic/cost evaluation the work on which has begun also.
Another LOI is with a state/private investor group in the Caribbean for a capacity of 256,000 t/a where Lurgi has
done extensive studies and is now supporting the financ-
ing efforts.
GTP Economics
Since propylene by itself is more an intermediate
than an end product, an economics estimate was per-
formed for a complete natural gas to polypropylene com-
plex. In this case of integrating a MegaMethanol
and a
MTP
, as shown in Figure 5.
Thus, the economic assessment included the GTP
route with a polypropylene unit for the production of a
more saleable, higher-value end product. The cases pre-
sented here take into account a difficult region of re-
Figure 5 Block Flow Diagram - PP Complex
Nat ur al
Gas
3.8 Mi o Nm/d
Pol y-
pr opyl ene
Pl ant
GTP
Pl ant
0.52 Mt /a
Pr opyl ene
0.52 Mt /a
Pol ypr opyl ene
0.14 Mt /a
Gasol i ne
0.9 Mt /a
Wat er
Gastech 2005 Liebner 6
mote/stranded gas as well as contingencies for the newly developed route. With that, the investment cost estimate is
fairly high and still an attractive return can be expected as seen in Table 4. For the US$ versus problem please refer
to disclaimer at the end of the paper.
Table 2 shows as Case A the production costs of intermediates and end product derived for the flow sheet of
Figure 5. The corresponding rates of return are given in Table 4.
Table 2 Production Cost, GTP/ PP Complex
CASE A: high propylene / low gasoline production
Table 2 GTP PP
Capacity t/a 520,000 520,000
Investment Cost EPC Mio $() 565 165
Owners Cost incl. Capit. Interest Mio $() 113 33
Feed Cost US$() Natural Gas
0.5$/MMBtu
Propylene
$()/t
Production Cost $()/t 210.1 261
- Raw Materials $()/t 57.1 212.8
- Utilities $()/t 10.8 6.8
- Operation & Maintenance $()/t 29.6 8.6
- Plant OVHD & Insurance $()/t 31.6 9.2
- Depreciation $()/t 81.0 23.6
Credit for by-product Gasoline $()/t -35.7 -
Cost of Product at ROI = 0 $()/t 174 261
Table 3 Production Cost, GTP/ PP Complex
CASE B: low propylene / high gasoline production
Table 3 GTP PP
Capacity t/a 440,000 440,000
Investment Cost EPC Mio $() 565 165
Owners Cost incl. Capit. Interest Mio $() 113 33
Feed Cost US$() Natural Gas
0. $/MMBtu
Propylene
$()/t
Production Cost $()/t 248.6 271
- Raw Materials $()/t 67.6 215.2
- Utilities $()/t 12.7 6.7
- Operation & Maintenance $()/t 35.1 10.2
- Plant OVHD & Insurance $()/t 37.4 10.9
- Depreciation $()/t 95.8 28
Credit for by-product Gasoline $()/t -71.9 -
Cost of Product at ROI = 0 $()/t 177 271
The remarkable facts here are the low production costs for propylene and for the end product polypropylene. These
leave room for healthy profit margins why this route is seen as the most promising and most economic natural gas utili-
sation of those presented here.
Case B as given in Table 3 shows the potential of the same complex to produce a significantly higher amount of
gasoline, albeit at the corresponding lower propylene production rate. This was studied as part of a sensitivity and risk
analysis. Even in this case far from the original design which is optimised for propylene yield, the rates of return as
shown in Table 4 remain impressive.
Gastech 2005 Liebner 7
It should be noted that a very low gasoline price of 130 US$/t has been considered in both cases. According to
the high quality found by the Statoil refinery lab, higher prices would be justified. With these, the profitability of Case B
would increase to nearly this of Case A. This robustness is based on the fact that with diminishing selectivity towards
propylene automatically the gasoline yield rises and that never any detrimental by-products are formed. Additionally, all
unconverted compounds are recycled as designed for anyway. In other words, the optimum propylene to gasoline ratio
will depend on the relative value of the two products. The main product price -polypropylenes- was taken as 650 US$/t,
a value slightly below the average since 1990 as quoted by CMAI; recent prices as quoted by ICIS-LOR being well in the
900dreds. With these moderate to low product prices and a reasonable investment cost contingency the economic
evaluation presented here is purposefully conservative.
Table 4: ROI and IRR, GTP / PP Complex, CASE A, B
Table 4 CASE A: high propylene B: high gasoline
Investment Cost EPC Mio $() 730 730
Owners Cost incl. Capitalised Interest Mio $() 146 146
Feedstock Cost US$() Natural Gas 0.5 $/MMBtu
Production Cost Mio $() 154.3 150.7
- Raw Materials Mio $() 49.7 46.6
- Utilities Mio $() 9.1 8.6
- Operation & Maintenance Mio $() 19.9 19.9
- Plant OVHD & Insurance Mio $() 21.2 21.2
- Depreciation Mio $() 54.4 54.4
Revenues Mio $() 356.6 317.2
- Gasoline (130 US$/t) Mio $() 18.6 31.6
- Polypropylene (650 US$/t) Mio $() 338 285.6
Return On Investment
1)
ROI % 23.1 19
Internal Rate of Return
2)
before tax IRR % 25.1 20.6
IRR on equity (30% of EPC + owners
cost)
IRRE% 36.8 30.3
1) ROI estimate based on ChemSystems methodology, 2) IRR estimate based on COMFAR
Lurgis Fischer-Tropsch Experience
Historically, Lurgi was one of the developers of FT in the 1920-30ties. FT in the form of (fixed bed) ARGE-
synthesis was commercialised in 1952 in Sasolburg, RSA. All five original reactors are still in operation. A sixth one was
started in 1987 as capacity extension.
Modern FT reactor technology prefers slurry phase reactors, either tubular or fluidised bed. Lurgi has commercial
experience in all these reactor designs. Also, Lurgi has designed all syngas production units of all currently operating in-
dustrial FT-plants: Sasol/Secunda, RSA, utilising coal gasification; Mossgas, RSA, - combined reforming of NG and SMDS
Bintulu, Malaysia - partial oxidation of NG.
The syngas production route which among others is used for MegaMethanol
and is available for FT syntheses also.
Lurgis Route to Transportation Fuels: MtSynfuels
Given the economically highly attractive technologies of MegaMethanol
and MTP
shown in Figure 6 is a combination of this type of
process with MegaMethanol
and a simplified
MTP
FT Synthesis
Naphtha : Kero+Diesel (max.) 1 : 2.3 1 : 6
Gasoline : Kero+Diesel 1 : 8
Product Properties
3)
Specification (Europe from 2005)
Gasoline
-Aromatics
-Benzene
-Sulphur
-Olefins
-RON
2)
-MON
2)
vol.%
vol.%
ppmw
vol.%
max.
max.
max.
max.
35
1
50/10
1)
18
91/95/98
82,5/85/88
11
<< 1
<<1
6
92
80
< 1
<< 1
< 1
> 30
< 40
< 40
Diesel
-Polyaromatics
-Sulphur
-Cetane No.
vol.%
ppmw
max.
max.
min.
11
50/10
1)
51
<< 1
<< 1
>52
< 1
< 5
> 70
1)
Diesel with 10 ppmw sulphur has to be available on the market
2)
RON / MON for Regular Gasoline / Euro-Super / Super Plus
3)
Properties of FT-naphtha
Plant location: Middle East; plant capacity: 50,000 bpd products; NG Price: 0.50 US$/MMBtu
Depreciation: 10 % for ISBL, 5 % for OSBL; Return on Investment (ROI): 10 %;
Total Capital Investment includes total plant capital (ISBL+OSBL) plus 20 % for other project cost, year 2000; Cost of
Production includes depreciation and 10 % ROI.
The table shows that MtSynfuels
compares well with existing FT plants. Admittedly it lacks full commercialisa-
tion, but so do most of the ultra-modern FT processes discussed currently. In contrast to these, MtSynfuels
is proven in
three of four steps with the demo unit for the third step (MTP
existing FT
1)
Total Capital Investment
Total Plant Capital
1,181 MM $()
19,680 $()/bpd
1,671 MM $
27,856 $/bpd
Figure 6. Gas Refinery via Methanol - Lurgis MtSynfuels
Olefin
Production
Olefin Oligo -
merisation
Gasoline
685 t/d
LPG
579 t/d
Kero/Diesel
5,438 t/d
H 2 ,55 t/d,
from Methanol
synthesis
Water
recycle
Hydrocarbon Recycle
Methanol
15,000 t/d
Product
separation
+ MD Hydrogenation
Hydrocarbon Recycle
Process water: 7,902 t/d
can replace raw water
Olefin
Production
Olefin Oligo -
merisation
Gasoline
685 t/d
LPG
579 t/d
Kero/Diesel
5,438 t/d
Kero/Diesel
5,438 t/d
H 2 ,55 t/d,
from Methanol
synthesis
Water
recycle
Hydrocarbon Recycle
Methanol
15,000 t/d
Product
separation
+ MD Hydrogenation
Hydrocarbon Recycle
Process water: 7,902 t/d
can replace raw water
Gastech 2005 Liebner 9
NG to Process (LHV)
Cat. & Chemicals
Utilities
3.82 $()/bbl
7.64 MMBtu/bbl
2.19 $()/bbl
0.28 $()/bbl
4.22 $/bbl
8.44 MMBtu/bbl
1.53 $/bbl
0.8 $/bbl
Cost of Production + ROI 22.47 $()/bbl 28.68 $/bbl
Market Prices
2)
- Gasoline [$/bbl]
- Diesel [$/bbl]
Western Europe
56.9
48.3
US Nymex
51.5
53.6
1)
ChemSystems 2001
2)
Corresponding Crude Oil Price: about 42 $/bbl
From Gas to Petrochemicals
It has been shown above that propylene produced via MTP
technology can bring down the net methanol production cost below US$ 50 per ton, wherever low
cost natural gas is available. This opens up a completely new field for downstream products like DME, propylene and syn-
fuels.
Based on simple fixed-bed reactor systems, conventional processing elements and operating conditions including
commercially manufactured catalysts, Lurgis MegaDME, MTP
and MtSynfuels
Lurgis
MTC
Lurgi
MegaMethanol
OIL
conventional route
Natural Gas
Associated Gas
Stranded Gas
emerging route
COAL
future route ?
Feedstock
Aromatics
Benzene
Toluene
Xylenes
Oxygenates
Alcohols, Ethers,
Esters, Acids,
Aldehydes
Intermediates Petrochemical
Products
Olefins
Ethylene
Propylene
Polyolefins
PE, PP
Acrylates
Polycondensates
PC, PET,
PBT
Solvents
Fuels
Fuel additives
Syngas Methanol
Cracker
MTO
Lurgis
MegaSyn
Lurgis
MTP
Lurgis
MTC
Lurgi
MegaMethanol